


Hothouse Flowers

by ibelieveinturtles



Series: Donuts in My Bra and Other Stories [37]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: BBB2020, Day 2, Day 3, F/M, Music, Orchids, bbbfluffathon, buckybarnesbingo, mine, outside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:54:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22934407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinturtles/pseuds/ibelieveinturtles
Summary: Bucky sees something new at the Avengers Compound.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis
Series: Donuts in My Bra and Other Stories [37]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/669671
Comments: 16
Kudos: 151
Collections: BBB Special Events





	Hothouse Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Bucky Barnes Bingo Fluffathon. 
> 
> Prompts used:  
> Day 2 - Orchids, Outside  
> Day 3 - Music, Mine

In the aftermath of Thanos' defeat, Bucky barely had time to think, let alone dwell on anything. Gradually the emergencies trickled off and the world slowly settled into some new sort of normal. Bucky still wasn't interested in being an Avenger but he'd developed a taste for emergency search and rescue. The satisfaction of every life saved was a balm to his uneasy conscience. 

The Avengers Compound was barely recognizable when the quinjet touched down after months of flitting from one crisis to the next. Last time he'd been here the construction teams had still been clearing away the rubble and now there were gleaming buildings of glass and steel, smooth paths, and green gardens everywhere.

Too exhausted to take it in properly, Bucky followed the junior agent assigned to guide him to his room. Shower, sleep, and food were what he needed first. Then he could think about exploring.

The next morning was taken up with meetings and debriefings and then they were all told to take the rest of the week off.

The novelty of doing nothing lasted about a day. On what was possibly his first real weekend off since the Invasion of Wakanda, he found himself feeling restless. 

Staring out of his bedroom window he noticed a white dome off in the distance. Enquiries soon revealed that it was a new structure and it didn't take long for his curiosity to get the better of him.

Stepping outside he shivered in the cool air, wondering if he should have worn his jacket instead of relying on the exercise to warm him up. Maybe the rumours that climate change had slowed down were true. Five years of a halved population were bound to have some sort of effect, right?

Tucking his hands into his jeans pockets he set off, wandering through the new gardens on an indirect path to his destination. As curious as he was, he didn't hurry, content to take his time and enjoy the sunny afternoon.

Drawing closer he paused for a moment to take it in. Now that he was up close it was much bigger than he’d thought. Through the semi-transparent panels he could see the outlines of plants reaching up to the top of the dome and he looked around for a door. Nothing.

Taking a few steps to the left he peered around the curve as far as he could but there was no sign of a door. He shuffled back to the right, repeating the manoeuvre but still couldn’t see an entrance. With an almost undetectable shrug of his shoulders he kept moving around the right, hoping he’d picked the right direction.

Exactly halfway around the dome he found the door. He gave it a gentle push and it swung open easily.

Inside, the air smelt like a forest - fresh, warm, damp, and earthy. Water misted down over the plants from sprays high overhead. Butterflies flitted from bloom to bloom and as he walked further in, tension he hadn’t even realised he was holding onto drained out of him. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply, a sense of peace settling over him.

Gradually he became aware of someone singing. He couldn’t quite tell if it was a real person or if there were speakers hidden in the garden.

Bucky only hesitated for a moment before calling out, “Hello? Anybody here?”

There was no reply and after a moment of indecision he chose a path and headed into the garden. The dome seemed even bigger now he was in it, and the path he followed wound around several large garden beds until he wasn’t sure which way was out. Wandering along the gently curving path he realised that even though the dome was full of plants, many of them were small, and they all looked as though they hadn’t been here very long - there were lots of gaps and space for them to grow into.

Following the path past a large tree with droppy branches he emerged into a small clearing and there was the source of the singing. The woman bending over a tub of flowers was wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, sturdy boots and a pair of gloves. Her long dark hair was pulled into a plait and the whole ensemble was topped off with a pair of bright purple headphones covering her ears.

No wonder there hadn’t been a reply to his earlier hail. 

Without really thinking about it he reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.

She jumped, shrieked, and a handful of dirt flew at Bucky’s face.

“Fuck. Sorry!” he said, throwing his hands up and stepping back.

“Jesus Christ, dude. You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry,” he repeated. “I called out but no one answered.”

“What?” she said, pulling the headphones down to her neck.

“I called out but I guess you couldn’t hear me,” Bucky said, pointing to the headphones.

She blinked several times and then shook her head.

“God, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone.” She wiped a muddy hand on her jeans and held it out. “Um, hi. I’m Darcy, welcome to my greenhouse.”

“Bucky,” he replied, shaking her hand. “This is yours?”

“Um, well, no, not really but  _ this _ part of it is. Everyone who wants one gets their own little plot or pot or bed or planter to do whatever they want with. Isn’t it great?”

Bucky looked around, nodding. “Yeah, it is. I don’t remember seeing it before though. How long has it been here? What’s it for?”

Darcy smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair back into her braid. “It’s for- it’s somewhere for people to come and relax. And it’s only been here a couple of weeks. Pepper organised it after-” she broke off, glancing away for a moment before continuing. “You want a guided tour?”

Bucky glanced around at the greenhouse while Darcy waited patiently for his answer. He didn’t have anything better to do and this place was just… well, it felt right. Turning his attention back to Darcy he nodded.

“Sure.”

With a little bounce, she clapped her hands. “Yay, let's go then! Come on, we’ll start at the front.”

She spun on her heel and actually skipped down the path. Bucky almost laughed as he followed at a more sedate pace. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a grown woman skip.

“Okay, so the whole thing is designed as a Celtic knot,” Darcy was saying, “so no matter which path you choose you’ll always end up back at the beginning.”

She chattered away happily, explaining the layout design, showing him how different people were using their plots. The gardens had been implemented as part of a therapy plan for anyone affected by the events of the last five or six years - which, Darcy said, was pretty much everyone, whether they’d lived those years or skipped them. He soon learnt that she had been a victim of Thanos, just like he had. 

Before he knew it, they were back where he had first found her.

“And this is my corner,” she said, spreading her arms wide to indicate the section she’d claimed. 

“It’s a lot bigger than most of the others,” Bucky commented. “What are you growing?”

"Just stuff - whatever makes me feel happy, you know?"

Bucky nodded and bent closer to inspect a small, delicate bloom at the front of the tub.

"What's this one?"

"Um, some kind of orchid. I don't actually know what a lot of these are," she said. 

"I thought orchids were bigger than that."

Darcy shook her head. "Nah, they come in all sizes," she said, smiling at him.

"It's beautiful," he said. "So delicate. And small. Easy to overlook."

Darcy nodded. "Yeah."

They stood silently, both gazing at the fragile flower.

"Do you want one?"

The question took him by surprise.

"An orchid?"

"A garden."

"Oh. Um…"

"You don't have to decide right away," she said. "But if it makes any difference, that one there hasn't been claimed yet."

She pointed to an empty garden bed opposite hers.

Bucky looked at it. "I've never grown plants before. I raised goats for a bit but I don't know if I'm a gardener."

Darcy laughed and the bright sound sent a spark of light through Bucky's soul. 

"I've never kept a plant alive before," she confessed, "but all we can do is try, right?"

"Yeah." He felt an answering smile bloom on his own face. "You're right about that."

**Author's Note:**

> I’m envisioning the greenhouse to look a bit like this one in the Botanical Gardens in Dusseldorf  
> 


End file.
